Hong Kong and Korea Cancellation for December 19

12/15/20

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the December 19, 2020 SSAT paper-based test administration is canceled in Hong Kong and Korea. Impacted test takers have been automatically moved to February 6, 2021. If families are unable to test on this date, they may request a refund through their portal or move their test to another location where COVID restrictions allow testing. Middle/Upper level test takers may also request to change to a computer-based test at a Prometric test center if one is available in their location. Both paper-based and computer-based testing are limited due to COVID-19 restrictions.

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Relaunch — Update Improvements to the SSAT at Home Testing Experience

11/20/20

Better Pre-Test Onboarding

We bolstered our pre-test onboarding for clarity and to help our families troubleshoot technical requirements and compatibility well before test day, as some of the issues encountered originated from the family’s technology capabilities. These included poor connectivity, low bandwidth, and in some cases, the age and software configuration of students’ computers. 

• New — Revamped email communications with clear guidance, reminders, and tips, including:
• Updated instructions for testing computer functionality prior to test day
• Clearer information on installing and using the Secure Browser
• New — Test Day Checklist with step-by-step instructions and onboarding videos for enhanced registration to test day tips
• New — Updated Help Center with a friendlier look and feel and updated FAQs
• New — Acquired additional equity technology kits, which includes a laptop and WiFi access point, for students with computers that don’t meet system requirements
  

Test-Day Enhancements

We have worked internally and with our test vendor to make significant changes to the test-day schema. This includes: 

• Increased the number of proctors to reduce student wait time
• Established a second proctor location to protect against network disruptions
• Added additional testing days, including weekday administrations, for increased flexibility, and will be adding additional seats to our weekday administrations
• Added email communications and instructions to families when proctor wait times exceed the 30-minute expectation
• Required our vendor, PSI, to expand EMA’s ability to access the support queue and step in if needed

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